Unique Places: Home of Dr. Jolls

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- You can visit the Dr. Jolls' Home in Orchard Park. It's this week's Unique Place.

The site is also home to the Orchard Park Historical Museum.

That's fitting since Dr. Willard Burton Jolls was one of the leading citizens of the community from the late 1890s, when he and his wife Ida moved in to this home, through the late 1950s when he practiced medicine for decades until his death in the early 1960s.

The building has been preserved with its 1900s charm, and the doctor's office sits much like he left it, using his vast knowledge and wide variety of medical skills.

"Dr. Jolls delivered over 1,200 babies in his career," Curator Dennis Popielinski said. "Many times going by horse and buggy before there was a car. And actually spending the night with he woman after they delivered the baby. He would make sure the woman was fine and would stay till morning."

Popielinski said Dr. Jolls did dentistry and opthamology, in addition to setting broken arms or broken legs.

"If somebody was feeling ill, he tried to use his herbs from his garden in the back or mix some compounds from his small pharmacy in the back," Popielinski said. "He pretty much did it all you know."

The Jolls House is open Saturdays from April through October or by appointment.

They will also have a special holiday decorated open house in December.